Imagine going to party to honor someone you’ve only heard about from what others have said as being someone impressive and important.  You accept the invitation out of curiosity.  You then wonder what you should bring to the party as a hospitable gift of thanks.  You decide to bring your special “pigs in the blanket” hoping everyone will like your popular family recipe. You arrive and hand them what you have.  Some of the attenders are a bit surprised at your offering.  You can tell by the eye rolls, ever so slight, but you saw and felt it. 

Then the guest of honor arrives!  Everyone smiles and honors him with applause and praise.  He accepts all the food on the table and thanks everyone for their contribution.  But what happens next leaves you in a state of awe and wonder.  The guest of honor announces that he has brought a gift to every single person who came—a gift so exquisite that no amount of money could purchase such a gift!  Many are stunned.  They came expecting to give not to get a gift! 

Every person invited to the party, especially those in the back who served, was offered the greatest gift in the world.  The Guest of honor then spent precious moments of time with each one who received his gift.  No one expected that in coming to a gathering would they see this honored guest offer the gift of a lifetime—eternal life!   

Acts 11, The Message

God Has Broken Through

^1-3 The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in.” When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?”

^4-6 So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: “Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.

^7-10 “Then I heard a voice: ‘Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, Master. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.’ The voice spoke again: ‘If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.’ This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.

^11-14 “Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’ll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.’

^15-17 “So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?”

¹⁸ Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”

^19-21 Those who had been scattered by the persecution triggered by Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they were still only speaking and dealing with their fellow Jews. Then some of the men from Cyprus and Cyrene who had come to Antioch started talking to Greeks, giving them the Message of the Master Jesus. God was pleased with what they were doing and put his stamp of approval on it—quite a number of the Greeks believed and turned to the Master.

^22-24 When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.

^25-26 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. He found him and brought him back to Antioch. They were there a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching a lot of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christians.

^27-30 It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

BE INFORMED!

There are no outsiders to God.  All are welcome and loved by God. All are “in” who believe in Jesus and accept his gift of redemption from sins.  All who receive this gift will not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

All nations, all races, all languages; ALL people created and so loved by God are welcome to receive the gift Jesus has provided.  God gave John a vision of this gathering of all—

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”          Revelation 7:9-10, NIV

Peter had nothing to fear from the uninformed critics. After all, he had only followed orders from the Lord, and the Spirit had clearly confirmed the salvation of the Gentiles. Peter reviewed the entire experience from beginning to end, and, when he was finished, the Jewish legalists dropped their charges and glorified God for the salvation of the Gentiles.

Christians, believers of Jesus, are to receive one another and not dispute over cultural differences or minor matters of personal conviction. Some of the Jewish Christians in the early church wanted the Gentiles to become Jews, and some of the Gentile believers wanted the Jews to stop being Jews and become Gentiles! This attitude can create serious division in the church even today, so it is important that we follow the example of verse 18; “God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!” 

How do we respond?

Pause and prayerfully examine our hearts:

Is there someone, anyone, with whom we would be uncomfortable or even refuse to worship alongside today?  If the answer is yes, I pray you would allow God to breakthrough all the barriers of uninformed thinking that would exclude anyone from being loved, appreciated, welcomed and acceptance into the Holy Presence of God, Savior, and Lord. 

Afterall, God accepted you and I—sinners saved by grace!

Lord,

May all we learn sink deep within our souls.  I pray unity through your Holy Spirit within all our churches to prevail over comparing, competing, judging, and all other unloving behaviors that drive people away from your saving grace.  Forgive us, Lord.  May we love like you love us.  Use us to encourage others as we share all you have so freely given to us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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